Rafael Nadal turns to hotels after ending his tennis career

Rafael Nadal has moved from tennis into hospitality after ending a 23-year playing career, Fortune reported. The shift matters because one of the sport’s most successful players is using retirement from competition to build businesses rather than step away from work.

Nadal retired from professional tennis in November 2024 with 22 Grand Slam titles, including a record 14 French Open championships, according to Fortune. Fortune reported that he spent 209 weeks ranked world No. 1 and has an estimated net worth of $220 million.

In an interview with CNBC, Nadal said he does not want an empty schedule after leaving the tour. “I am not the kind of guy that likes to wake up in the morning and don’t know what to do,” Nadal told CNBC. “My goal was to keep going.”

Nadal told CNBC that family time, including time with his two young children, matters to him, while adding that he still wants to work. “In the same way I built a legacy on the court, now is the moment to build a legacy outside of the court,” he said, according to CNBC.

Zel Hotels expands beyond Spain

Nadal’s hotel venture, Zel Hotels, opened its fourth property in Fuerteventura, Fortune reported. The hotel is a beachfront, adults-only site in the Canary Islands.

CNBC reported that Nadal linked the hotel business to his years on the tennis circuit. He said he spent much of his life staying in hotels and knows what he values in them. “That’s what I did during half of my life, and I know what I like the most,” Nadal told CNBC.

Nadal founded Zel Hotels in 2022 with Meliá Hotels International, according to Fortune. Fortune reported that the first site, ZEL Mallorca, opened the following year, with later locations in Costa Brava in Spain and Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic.

The hotel brand is one part of Nadal’s post-tennis business portfolio, Fortune reported. His holdings also include sports and education ventures, much of them handled through his family holding company, Aspemir.

Nadal told CNBC the broader business effort is personal and intended to last. “This is something that, of course, is a lifetime project for me, very personal, but at the same time, the company has grown over the last couple of years, and we felt that we needed some help to keep growing and to keep expanding,” he said.

Academies remain part of the portfolio

Before launching Zel Hotels, Nadal opened the Rafa Nadal Academy in Mallorca in 2016, Fortune reported. The academy, built around elite tennis coaching, has expanded into a network of academies and sports centers in Mexico, Greece, Kuwait, Hong Kong and the Dominican Republic, according to Fortune.

Fortune reported that Nadal sold 44.9% of the academy business to private investment firm GPF Capital in 2025. The deal left him with a 55.1% stake, majority control and about €94 million, or $107 million, in cash, according to Fortune.

Fortune also compared Nadal’s post-career work with other wealthy figures who continued working after reaching financial independence. The publication cited Roger Federer, who retired from tennis in 2022 with 20 Grand Slam titles, and Martha Stewart, who told Fortune at age 84 that “retirement is not an option.”

This story draws on original reporting from Fortune.